Free Trial

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Canadian Natural Resources logo
$53.77 +1.82 (+3.50%)
Closing price 03:59 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$53.38 -0.39 (-0.73%)
As of 06:01 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

Canadian Natural Resources - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Sell
0
Hold
4
Buy
7

Based on 11 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Canadian Natural Resources in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 11 analysts, 4 have given a hold rating, 6 have given a buy rating, and 1 has given a strong buy rating for CNQ.

Consensus Price Target

$57.00
6.01% Upside
According to the 11 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Canadian Natural Resources, the average price target is $57.00. The highest price target for CNQ is $65.00, while the lowest price target for CNQ is $49.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 6.01% from the current price of $53.77.
MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.
Get the Latest News and Ratings for CNQ and Related Stocks

Enter your email address to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Canadian Natural Resources and its competitors.

Sign Up
SMS is currently available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By entering your phone number and clicking the sign-up button, you agree to receive periodic text messages from MarketBeat at the phone number you submitted, including texts that may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency will vary. Messages will consist of stock alerts, news stories, and partner advertisements/offers. Consent is not a condition of the purchase of any goods or services. Text HELP for help/customer support. Unsubscribe at any time by replying "STOP" to any text message that you receive from MarketBeat or by visiting our mailing preferences page. Read our full terms of service and privacy policy.

CNQ Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
10/16/25 to 10/16/26
1 Month Ago
9/16/25 to 9/16/26
3 Months Ago
7/18/25 to 7/18/26
1 Year Ago
10/16/24 to 10/16/25
Strong Buy
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
6 Buy rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
6 Buy rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
Hold
4 Hold rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
Sell
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$57.00$57.00$57.00$62.00
Forecasted Upside6.01% Upside13.79% Upside29.97% Upside105.09% Upside
Consensus RatingModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate Buy

CNQ Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
Skip Chart & View Analyst Rating History

CNQ Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
Skip Chart and View Analyst Price Target HistorySkip Chart & View Price History Table

Canadian Natural Resources Stock vs. The Competition

TypeCanadian Natural ResourcesEnergy CompaniesBroader Market
Consensus Rating Score
2.73
2.44
2.53
Consensus RatingModerate BuyHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside6.54% Upside47.97% Upside17.78% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent CNQ News
Positive News
Positive News
Report Date
0 Results
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
10/14/2026 DowngradeOutperform ➝ Market Perform
10/9/2026 Reiterated RatingOutperform
10/8/2026
Weiss Ratings logo
Weiss Ratings
3 of 5 stars
 UpgradeBuy (B) ➝ Buy (B+)
10/5/2026 UpgradeHold ➝ Strong-Buy
8/7/2026 Reiterated RatingSector Perform
8/7/2026 Reiterated RatingBuy
7/16/2026 UpgradeHold
3/12/2026Boost TargetBuy$37.00 ➝ $49.00+0.96%
3/6/2026Boost TargetOutperform$61.00 ➝ $65.00+42.70%
3/5/2026 DowngradeStrong-Buy ➝ Moderate Buy
1/6/2026 DowngradeOutperform ➝ In-Line
10/16/2025 UpgradeHold
7/17/2025 Reiterated RatingSector Perform
2/10/2025DowngradeStrong-Buy ➝ Hold

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Friday at 06:14 PM ET.


Should I Buy Canadian Natural Resources Stock? CNQ Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Monday, October 12, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Canadian Natural Resources pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Canadian Natural Resources
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Canadian Natural Resources Limited:

  • Canadian Natural Resources Limited recently received a significant upgrade from Zacks Research, which raised its rating from "hold" to "strong-buy" on October 7, 2026, signaling strong analyst confidence in the company's future performance and potential for price appreciation.
  • The company demonstrated strong financial performance in its most recent quarterly report released on August 6, 2026, where it reported earnings per share of $1.58, significantly beating the consensus estimate of $1.43, and generated revenue of $14.74 billion, which far exceeded the expected $9.40 billion.
  • Investors can benefit from a consistent income stream as the stock currently offers a dividend yield of 3.68%, providing a tangible return on investment in addition to potential capital gains from the current stock price of $50.46.
  • The stock exhibits lower volatility compared to the broader market, indicated by a beta of 0.53, which suggests that Canadian Natural Resources Limited may provide a more stable investment option that is less susceptible to sharp market swings.
  • Short interest in the stock decreased by 36.0% in September 2026, dropping to 117,144,565 shares, which indicates that investors are reducing their bearish positions and potentially creating upward pressure on the stock price as short sellers cover their positions.

Canadian Natural Resources
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in Canadian Natural Resources Limited for these reasons:

  • The current stock price of $50.46 is approaching the 52-week high of $52.31, which may limit the immediate upside potential for new investors and suggests that much of the recent positive news may already be priced into the stock.
  • Despite the recent drop, short interest remains elevated at 117,144,565 shares, representing 6.0% of the float, which indicates that a significant portion of the market still holds a bearish view on the company's future prospects and could exert downward pressure on the stock price.
  • The company's valuation, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, may be considered high for an oil and gas exploration and production company, potentially leaving less room for error if commodity prices decline or operational costs increase.
  • Canadian Natural Resources Limited operates in the oil and gas sector, which is inherently exposed to volatile commodity prices and regulatory risks, making the company's earnings and stock price susceptible to significant fluctuations based on external market conditions.
  • The company's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32 and current ratio of 1.00 suggest that while it is not heavily leveraged, it has limited liquidity to cover short-term obligations, which could become a concern if cash flow from operations decreases due to lower oil prices or increased production costs.

CNQ Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 11 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Canadian Natural Resources is $57.00, with a high forecast of $65.00 and a low forecast of $49.00.

11 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Canadian Natural Resources in the last twelve months. There are currently 4 hold ratings, 6 buy ratings and 1 strong buy rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" CNQ shares.

According to analysts, Canadian Natural Resources's stock has a predicted upside of 6.01% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Canadian Natural Resources's stock had 5 upgrades and 3 downgrades by analysts.

Canadian Natural Resources has been rated by research analysts at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Raymond James Financial, Scotiabank, TD Securities, Weiss Ratings, and Zacks Research in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Canadian Natural Resources more than other "energy" companies. The consensus rating for Canadian Natural Resources is Moderate Buy while the average consensus rating for "energy" companies is Hold. Learn more on how CNQ compares to other companies.


MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Canadian Natural Resources analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 10/14/2026.
From Our Partners